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Austin ISD Data

All of the data about Austin ISD was collected from 2014-15 TEA School Report Cards, which are available on both the TEA website, and individual school websites. The Austin data does not include Middle or High Schools. This is only a look at segregation in the Austin elementary schools.

Economic Segregation

In Austin ISD 60% of students are economically disadvantaged. (Economically disadvantaged, for the purpose of this research, consistent with TEA reporting, means qualifying and receiving federal free or reduced price lunch, FRPL.) Below is a graph showing the economic demographic distribution in our elementary schools. The red line shows the average for the district.

Knowing that 60% of AISD students are economically disadvantaged, it would seem likely that many of our individual elementary schools would have similar rates of economically disadvantaged students. This is not the case. Our schools are polarized. We concentrate poverty in some schools, while other schools have very few students who are economically disadvantaged. In almost half of our elementary schools (39 out of 81 schools) more than 90% of the students are economically disadvantaged. While 16 of our elementary schools have less than a quarter of their student population who are economically disadvantaged.

Below are graphs showing the distribution of white students, black students and Hispanic students in low poverty, mid-low poverty, mid-high poverty, and high poverty schools in America. Low Poverty schools have 0-25% of their population who receive free or reduced price lunch, FRPL. Mid-low Poverty schools have 26-50% of their population who receive FRPL. Mid-high Poverty schools have 51-75% of their populations receive FRPL. High Poverty schools have 76-100% of their population who receive FRPL. The first graphs show the distribution of students in America, followed by a graph showing the distribution of students in Austin.

Racial Segregation

​Nationally, white students are about four times more likely to attend low-poverty schools than high-poverty schools. The opposite is true for black and Hispanic students. Black students are about 6 times more likely to attend high poverty schools than low poverty schools, while Hispanic students are about five and a half times more likely to attend high poverty schools than low poverty schools. This difference is even more stark in Austin. Black students are ten times as likely to be in a high poverty school then a low poverty school, and Hispanic students are 9 times as likely to be in a high poverty school then a low poverty school. The opposite is true for white students, who are seven times as likely to be in a low poverty school then a high poverty school. In fact, three quarters of black and Hispanic elementary students in Austin ISD go to high poverty schools; and 62% of white elementary students go to low poverty schools.

The above graphic demonstrates just how segregated we are. The orange pins represent elementary schools that have more than 50% economically disadvantaged students, while the blue pins represent elementary schools that have less than 50% economically disadvantaged students. The accompanying pie charts show which schools the black, white, and Hispanic students attend. The vast majority of white students (86%) go to schools where less than half of the students are economically disadvantaged, while the vast majorities of black and Hispanic students (83% and 82%) go to schools that have more than half of the students are economically disadvantaged. There is a problem when the vast majority of white students go to certain schools, while the vast majority of students of color go to others. It is almost like we have two separate school systems.